1. Or I shall live your Epitaph to make,

2. Or you survive when I in earth am rotten,

3. From hence your memory death cannot take,

4. Although in me each part will be forgotten.

5. Your name from hence immortal life shall have,

6. Though I (once gone) to all the world must die,

7. The earth can yield me but a common grave,

8. When you entombed in men's eyes shall lie,

9. Your monument shall be my gentle verse,

10. Which eyes not yet created shall o'er-read,

11. And tongues to be, your being shall rehearse,

12. When all the breathers of this world are dead;

13. You still shall live (such virtue hath my Pen)

14. Where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men.

Immortal Life

Dedication: To Henry

Initially he rhetorically asks if the result of their lives should be either of them seeing the other off to die. He goes on to say regardless this subject that he writes will be immortalized. Then tells his subject, it of course will be they that will be remembered and he forgotten. These three thoughts seem to be indications that he is writing of Elizabeth. These were possibly designed for her to have believed such. However he changes course to say that immortalization will come by virtue of being the subject of his verse. An indication that some of these poems again were even designed by the author to reveal what our dedication has told us.

1^st Quatrain: (1-4)

Lines 1 & 2 discusses either circumstance of Oxford or Henry's death before the other. Telling him in spite of either contingency he will be remembered while Oxford will be forgotten. 2^nd Quatrain: (5-8)Further telling him it is these very lines that will immortalize him and again Oxford's name must remain unknown. Sadly commenting on his own common grave in contrast to the greater monument one might of thought for Shake-speare and father to a prince which might have been expected.

3rd Quatrain: (9-12)

Again telling Henry his immortalization will come through these poems.

couplet (13-14),

And again telling him of this very monument where his shall be ever remembered. It certainly must have been Oxford's intention to make the subject of these sonnets more plain and I envision he fully expected that at least the ones to Henry would see publication if not this complete collection.

Commentary:

One of the more difficult sonnets in terms of revealing the person addressed but most likely Elizabeth. Expressing that even if she chooses to an heirless death, she still will live on by virtue of Oxford’s pen and also likely with the implied message that given that his message will be expressed anyway in these sonnets what is the point of her hiding Henry.

Line 6 both a very autobiographical and important corroboration for both his identity as Shakespeare but more importantly his identity as the writer of this poetry.

I find it particularly interesting that Shakespeare reveals his own immodesty here to proclaim that his verse and pen have such immortality. This contrasts with the supposed “rival poet” sonnets we have already seen where Shakespeare speaks of his own “enfeebled” rhyme in contrast to the other poet. However consider here that he is not competing with his rival this time he is actually praising him. His so called rival has now become the subject of his poem and the immortality the poet would like to see for him may have to be that bequeathed by these poems as the dedication informs us.That is the “eternity promised”.

Sonnet 107 already contained the first overt notion of these poems being meant for a wider audience as here in lines 9 and 13. As I spoke of earlier as demonstrating that Oxford may have held the notion previously as a possibility but now is very much aware of the need to provide evidence of Henry through the legacy of his own poetry. In addition to demonstrating the arrow of time this sonnet is very important for demonstrating that the young boy who has remained hidden for all this time now must be revealed in a way other than just that of Elizabeth’s making.

Where traditional scholars read into this poem competition of the poet to express his ability to better offer immortality, this is another illusory interpretation with an erroneous assumption, the assumption that there is a rival at all. Though some scholars apparently regard this as a break in the “Rival Poet” series.

The key of the sonnet are two fold, the anonymous nature of the poet beyond even being common, and the need to immortalize the subject because the subject is the victim of an effort to deny his true nature as we have seen previously and will continue to see.

Vendler understands that the entombing takes place in print but fails to understand that this is offered as a consolation for the celebrity that the subject was denied in life. And while she understands as well the sentiment of needing to offer an epitaph to the subject because of the very real possibility of not being around to offer it, she fails to understand the paternal nature of the emotional expression.